PREDIRECT will investigate the relationship between the limits of Climate Change adaptation, post-disaster recovery and community enforcement in Southern Europe. Climate Change is seriously affecting Southern Europe where many territories are experiencing their own historical fragilities. In these territories, due to the rapid post-disaster times, recovery is "how it was" oriented. The recovery, instead of being an opportunity for enhancing resilience and inclusion, often increases disaster risk and gender and social gaps in a worsening loop. Likewise, Climate Change Adaptation is designed starting from the consolidated territorial frames. Adaptive tools aim to defend the existing situation. This conservative approach faces Climate Change by preserving the linear evolution of the system as we knew it, with its global and local planning and business. This conservative approach struggles to anticipate the effects of a possible disasters, and rarely allows radical territorial transformations. PREDIRECT prefers a conception of adaptation that starts from the possible major impacts effects. To do this PREDIRECT develops its approach starting from the anticipation of the disaster. Natural
hazards become disasters when they impact the people and assets that are susceptible to their destructive effects. In the USA, a planning tool has been developed to respond to these problems: the Pre-Disaster Recovery Plan (PDRP). PDRP could become an occasion for reducing gender and social gaps and rethink adaptive strategies. PREDIRECT aims to investigate how to use PDRP for supporting Climate Change Adaptation and gap reduction in Southern Europe. PREDIRECT will act by involving fragile communities and local administrations in individuating policies, landscapes and urban forms able to support recovery plans. The final goal is build a theory for PDRP in Southern Europe.